Active backup feature

The AXIS backup feature is available starting in GridLink version 2.30.

Overview

This new backup functionality enables the farm administrator to backup all the AXIS datasets and other related files or directories based on the backup schedule provided (similar to "Windows Scheduled Tasks").  When a backup job starts, any dataset that is marked as busy (for e.g. the dataset is used in one of the current running jobs or another user is modifying the assumption) would be skipped over.  Therefore,  the administrator does not need to worry about backup datasets with partial results or causing the active running job to crash which are common problems observed when using third party backup software.  More details will be provided in the below step by step instructions.

Steps for setting up the parameter for using the backup functionality:

1.  In the GridLink Utility, click on the "Farm Profile" menu and choose the "Farm Settings..." option.

2.  Select the "Backup" tab.

3.  Select the path for storing the backup information (This path must be accessible by both the GridLink Utility and the GridLink Controller on the current farm).

4.  Click "OK".

Steps for setting up the backup schedule:

1.  In the GridLink Utility, click on the "Tools" menu and choose the "Backup Manager..." option.

2.  Select "New".

3.  Enter the following information for the backup job.

    

Parameter	Description
Job name	A brief description for the backup job.
Job Enabled	The backup job will be executed only if the check box is checked.
Backup destination folder	This is the root path where all the files and directories will be backed up.  Please do not use a local directory.
Schedule	Choose either "Daily" or "Selected week days".  If "Selected week days" is chosen, please check the checkboxes for the weekdays which you want the backup to run.
Start Time	The time which the backup job should start running.
End Time	The time which the backup job should stop.  If the backup job is not finished by this time, it will be terminated and shown as "Timed Out".
Mode	Choose from either "Backup farm profile and job history" or "Backup datasets and other data (Folder names will be saved in UNC format)"               "Backup farm profile and job history" will save all the farm settings and the remote job histories.  The profile will be saved in a directory called AXIS_BACKUP_<Job name>\<server name> under the backup destination folder.  (E.g.  The backup destination folder is \\backupserver\GridLink, the job name is "ABC" and one of the server names in the farm is "gridserver001".  The profile will be backed up to the directory \\backupserver\GridLink\AXIS_BACKUP_ABC\gridserver001\)               "Backup datasets and other data (Folder names will be saved in UNC format)" can backup any directory that the user has setup in the "Folders to backup" section.
The following two settings only apply if the user chooses the mode "Backup datasets and other data (Folder names will be saved in UNC format)".
Folders to backup	A list of folders which need to be backed up.  The list is processed in the order which they are entered.  Therefore, it is suggested that user enters the folder according to their importance in case the backup job times out.
Backup method	Choose either "Compressed" or "Simple Copy".  In the compressed mode, the folders are stored as zipped files on the backup destination folder.  If the folder is a dataset directory, it is saved using the dataset name which includes all the subdirectories in the folder.  Otherwise all the files in each folder will be saved as "Files.zip" which only include the files inside the given directory.  Files inside a subdirectory will be zipped separately under the subdirectory itself.         For e.g.  If one of the folders to be backed up is \\server\myAXISfolder and it contains the following directories with the destination folder set to  \\server2\backup :         \\server\myAXISfolder         \\server\myAXISfolder\datasets\sample         \\server\myAXISfolder\datasets\sample\SERIATIMU         \\server\myAXISfolder\excelfiles         \\server\myAXISfolder\excelfiles\2007         The following zip files will be stored:         \\server2\backup\Root1\datasets\sample.zip         \\server2\backup\Root1\excelfiles\files.zip         \\server2\backup\Root1\excelfiles\2007\files.zip         \\server2\backup\Root1\files.zip

4.  Click "Save"

Steps for editing the backup schedule:

1.  In the GridLink Utility, click on the "Tools" menu and choose the "Backup" option.

2.  Select one of the listed backup jobs and click "Edit".

3.  Follow the steps 3 to 4 in "Steps for setting up the backup schedule".

Steps for reviewing the backup history:

1.  In the GridLink Utility, click on the "Tools" menu and choose the "Backup Manager..." option.

2.  Select one of the listed backup jobs and click "Last Run Log".

You will see either one of the following two summary type depending on the backup job mode.

For "Backup farm profile and job history" mode, you will see a dialog similar to the following:

For "Backup datasets and other data" mode, you will see a dialog similar to the following:

3.  For "Backup datasets and other data" mode, all the folders which have been backed up are listed.  You can click "Show details" to see more information for the selected folder.

Notes:

If the backup information path is modified in the "Farm Settings" after the backup schedule has been setup, the user is responsible for moving all the contents under the original folder to the new destination.  Otherwise it is assumed that the user wants to start a new backup database and the old schedule does not take effect anymore.